Apparatus for raising and lowering shelving out of and into storage cabinets



Dec. 6, 1949 A. LEUTHEUSER APPARATUS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING SHELVING OUT OF AND INTO STORAGE CABINETS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 6, 1945 WII,"

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$2' on l 35 ffff CLOSED 0 A1 JRNEYS Patented Dec. 6, 1949 AIPARATUS FOR RAISING ANDLOWERING SHEILVING' OUT OF AND- INTO STGRGE CABIN ETS Andrew L'eutheuser, Somerset, Mich.. Application July 6,1945;` Serial'No; 603;'1275 6 Claims.

The invention relates toa deep` freeze.- cabinet, and more. especially to an apparatus for: automatically raising and. lowering food carriers within a deep freeze storageaunit.

The primary object of.' the' invention is the provision of an apparatus of this character, wherein food stuffv canbe conveniently stored within a deep freeze. cabinet or the like, and when it is desiredto remove adetermined quantity ofithe stui lowerxn'ost within the said1cabinet, it can be automatically raised to accessible position. outside of. the. latter;

Another object of the invention is'the provision of an apparatus of this character, wherein. its working parts-'are built withinthe cabinet, and such apparatus is; under the control of thev user of the cabinet, so that materials'c'an be conveniently stored therein. and removed therefrom at will, the apparatus being of;V novel construction and is unique in the arrangement thereofv in association with the cabinet;

A further'objectv of the invention is the provision of an apparatus of. this character; wherein the shelves forl theA stored stuffr can be selectively raised for access thereto so thata determined` amount of the stuif can be removed with. ease and dispatcher for originalplacement within the cabinet.

A further object of theinvention is the provision of' an apparatus offV this character,` wherein the carriers are raised and lowered automatically through hydraulic means electricallycontrolled and hand regulated" for' the said raisingv and lowering operations.

A still further'object of' the inventionis the provision of an' apparatus of" this character, which is simple in construction, thoroughly reliable and ecient Vin operation; strong. durable, positive in the workingA of the same, it doesl not interferel with the freezing action of the v cabinet, compact; assuring convenienti accessibility to the cabinet, and inexpensive to manufacture and install.

With these andother objectsv in view, the invention consists in the f'e'aturesof construction; combination. and. arrangement' of* parts as will be hereinafter more. fully described, p ilustrated' in the accompanying drawings, whichshow thermeferred embodiment` of. the inventiomand pointed out in the. claims hereunto. appended.

In the accompanying drawings;

Figure .L is. a vertical longitudinal sectional.v ele-y vation of a freezing., cabinet.showing thefappa ratus constructed in accordance with the in- LSU (Cl. S12-192) vention incorporated therein; with the ooversor lids in closed-position..

Figurev is .a view'partly in. elevation and partly in vertical longitudnabsection. with the lifter lbar andv one cover; andits; shelving: structure inraised position..

Figure 3 is av topplan view of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a sectionalview taken on the line @-13l of Figure 1- looking inf th'edirection of' the arrows.k

Figure 5 is a sectional-view taken; on; theline 5;-5 of Figure 1'; look-ing;` in the direction-of the arrows.

Figuren 6 is.. a dagrannnatio-detailv view of the electricl equipment forv the control of. the apparatus..

Similar reference. charactersVV indicate correspending parts throughoutthe=several views in the drawings.

Referring, to. the'. drawings; in; detail.. A designates generallyA aportionoadeep freeze stor age cabinet, which.. in its construction has the freezing coils Hlfdisposedv vertically and cross-- wise within the.- bodyf" Irt in spaced? relation to each other,.torbe disposed between freezing zones 2 interiorly' of. the said. body of. the cabinet'. Adapted tointert coversills t3 at theE top of; the body Il are'covers orrlids: t4, which at all times liel in the samehorizontalfplane with each other and each when raised' gives access' to its companion freezing vzonerr lf2@ andi when lowered. seals the latter.

Bridging the coversror lids longitudinally of.

their companion:zones. l Zrwhen ina lowered position. Each shelving structuren! at itstopcarries in its-'union withf. the lid orrcover t4 next thereto the keepers i9: for uncoupling; connection with the bar or` railv t5; and sucns-tructureprovides a carrier for food stuff to be stored Within the cabinet A. One-or. all of. the shelvinggstructures 29 can be coupledy or. uncoupled to or from the bar or rail I5 through the use of the latchv or latches, as should be obvious, from Figure 2 of the drawings.

Exteriorly of the ends of the body ll of the cabinet A are vertically arranged opposed piston cylinders 2I having slidable therein pistons 22, their stems 23 being connected at the outer ends to opposite ends of the bar or rail I5, so that through reciprocation of the pistons 22 the said bar or rail will be raised or lowered and concurrently therewith the shelf structures latched thereto.

Within a chamber 24 lowermost within the cabinet A and built within the body I I is a iiuid storage tank 25 from which leads a supply pipe 26 to a pump 21, which is driven by an electric motor 28, the pipe being fitted with a return check valve 29 to prevent back flow of iiuid to the tank 25. To and from the cylinders 2I are fluid lines 30 and 3I, respectively, which through a branch 32 communicate with` the tank 25. The branch 32 is fitted with a turn valve 33 which through meshing gears 34 has connection with hand control 35 exposed outside of the cabinet A at one side thereof, so that the valve 33 can be opened and closed by hand.

This Vcontrol has associated therewith an electric switch 36 for opening and closing an electric circuit 31 having the motor 28 therein, and also for opening and closing this circuit 31 is an automatically operated switch 38, which is arranged in the path of a striker 38 on the stem 23 of one of the pistons 22, the arrangement of the switch 38 being such that when the bar or rail I5 is fully raised, such switch will be opened for shutting off the working of the motor, and then when the bar or rail becomes fully lowered, this switch will be brought to closed position. However, the switch 33 only completes the closing of the circuit 31 when the valve 33 is in closed position, but when such valve 33 is open, the circuit is open. The lowering of the bar or rail I5 automatically closes the switch 38 by engagement therewith. The stops 39' are provided for the switch 36, to limit movement thereof in either direction by the hand control 35. When the bar or rail i5 is in lowered position, the switch 38 is closed but the valve 33 and switch 3B controlled thereby is open resulting in the electrical circuit to motor 2B being interrupted. To raise the bar or rail I5, hand control 35 is turned closing valve 33 and switch 36 thereby causing motor 28 to actuate the pump 21 which in turn forces iiuid into lines 30 and 3I to cylinders 2I, as indicated by the solid arrows in Figure 4, causing pistons 22 to rise and thus elevate the bar or rail I5, moving therewith one or all of the shelving structures 23. When the bar or rail I5 has been elevated to its final position, the motor circuit is interrupted by striker 39 opening switch 33. To lower the bar or rail I5, hand control 35 is turned in the opposite direction, opening valve 33 and switch 36. The opening of valve 33 will allow the fluid to return by gravity, as well as by the pressure exerted on the pistons 22 by the weight on I5, to the tank 25, as indicated by the dotted arrows in Figure 4. With the lowering of I5, the lids or covers I4 close the cabinet A with the'shelving structures 23 depending within the freezing zones for the freezing of their loads. The fluid for operating the pistons 22 may be oil or other fluid having a low freezing point and unharmful to food.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a refrigerator cabinet having an open top portion, transverse sills across said cabinet at the open top portion thereof, a plurality of lid members removably supported by said open top portion and said sills to form closures for the open portion of said cabinet, shelving structures adapted to carry commodities and positioned within said cabinet, a T-shaped keeper attached to each lid member, a lifter bar reciprocably movable relative to said cabinet and having a channel-shaped groove extending lengthwise thereof, a plurality of latching bars slidably mounted in said channel-shaped groove, each latching bar having an elongated slot cooperating with one of said T-shaped keepers, each slot formed from a circular opening adapted to pass the keeper freely and an elongated opening of a width less than the diameter of said circular opening and merging therewith whereby each latching bar is adapted to engage a keeper whereby its attached lid and shelving structure can be selectively withdrawn from the cabinet by said lifter bar, piston rods fastened to opposite ends of said lifter bar, pistons secured to said piston rods, cylinders secured to and exteriorly of said cabinet and slidably receiving said pistons, a pumping device, an electric motor for driving the same, a reservoir having fiuid therein, pipe means including a check valve placing said reservoir in communication with said pump, conduit means connecting said pump to said cylinders for supplying iiuid thereto for moving said pistons, a return duct means between said conduit means and said reservoir, said return duct means including a valve therein, a manually-operated shaft secured to said valve for opening and closing the same, an electrical circuit connecting said motor to a source of energy, a limit switch in said circuit, a striker attached to one of said piston rods and adapted to actuate said switch to open the same to stop said motor at limit of travel of said lifter bar, a starting switch means in said circuit and actuated by said manually-operatable shaft, whereby rotation of said shaft to close said valve will close said starting switch means to cause actuation of said motor to force iiuid through said conduit means to said cylinders to raise said lifter bar and whereby reverse rotation of said shaft will open said valve and said switch means to stop the motor and to drain the fluid from said cylinders back into said reservoir thereby lowering said lifter bar.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a refrigerator cabinet having an open top portion, transverse sills across said cabinet at the open top portion thereof, a plurality of lid members removably supported by said open top portions and said sills to form closures for the open portion of said cabinet, shelving structures positioned within said cabinet, a reciprocating lifting device, means associated with said device for selectively engaging said lids to withdraw a shelving structure from said cabinet, hydraulic means attached to the exterior of said cabinet and said lifting device for imparting translative movement to the same to raise and to hold the same at a raised position, a motor for activating said hydraulic means, a limit switch means connected to said motor and said lifting device for stopping the former upon the latter reaching its limit of travel, a manually-operable device for rendering the hydraulic means ineffective to hold said lifting device in a raised position and a starting switch for said motor operable by said manually-operable device.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a refrigerator cabinet having a plurality of openings in the top thereof, a plurality of closure lids for said openings, respectively, having shelving structure depending from said lids, lifting means for selectively engaging said closure lids for raising the same and lowering the same into said cabinet, hydraulic means conF nected to the lifting means for imparting translative motion to the same to raise and to hold the same in a raised position, and means associated with the hydraulic means for controlling the operation of the same.

4. A cabinet having an opening in its top, a lid for said opening, means for raising and lowering the lid comprising a member and means for releasably latching said lid to said member, a carrier rack connected to said lid, electric means for controlling and regulating the first named means and fluid means included in the rst named means.

5. A cabinet having an opening in its top, a lid for said opening, a shelving structure depending from said lid, means for raising and lowering the lid vertically including a mechanism adapted to releasably latch said lid to said means, electric means controlling and regulating the rst named means, fluid means included in the rst REFERENCES CITED The following references are oi record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,003,302 Miller et al June 4, 1935 2,076,173 Cocks Apr. 6, 1937 2,236,095 Ginter Mar. 25, 1941 2,390,030 Paulson Nov. 27, 1945 

